This invention relates to a lifting/sliding roof for vehicles having a cover panel for the selective closing and at least partial exposing of an opening in the roof. By means of an operating mechanism, the cover panel of a roof of this type can, starting from a closed position, be swung around a transverse axis located at or near its front end into a tilted up position while its rear edge is lifted up. Also, this cover can be slid toward the rear, along guide rails extending on both sides of the roof opening, into an open position. This lifting/sliding roof also has a catching device that is automatically adjustable as a function of the adjusting motion of the cover and that, for holding down the rear end of the cover in the closed position of the cover, can be engaged with a counterbearing.
In the case of such a lifting/sliding roof, it is known (German Offenlegungsshrift No. 31 29 900) to fasten the counterbearing at the cover and to provide a catching lever as the catching device that is pivoted at the stationary guide rail. This catching lever, via a rod, is prestressed by means of a pull-back spring in a direction that corresponds to the tilting motion of the cover and the release of the counterbearing by the catching device. The rod actuating the catching lever, when the cover is swung into the closed position, via an engaging coupling, engages with the cover in order to engage the catching device against the resistance of the spring with the counterbearing. When the cover is tilted out, the engaging coupling releases the rod for a restoring movement under the influence of the prestressed pull-back spring. It is true that, in the case of this known roof, the catching device to a certain extent supports the tilting motion of the cover; however, this tilting support is furnished only by the pull-back spring, which is required to exert a relatively weak force. Because of the mutual engagement between the catching lever and the counterbearing taking place in the tilt-out phase via spring power, rattling noises may easily occur that are caused, for example, by the unevenness of the road. Furthermore, the stability of the operational parts of the roof is not good.
Also, in the case of another known lifting/sliding roof (German Offenlegungsshrift No. 33 11 452), the counterbearing is mounted at the cover, while the catching device is located in the area of the guide rail. It is true that in this case there is a forced taking-along of the catching device by the operating mechanism of the roof during the lifting-up as well as lowering of the rear edge of the cover. However, the catching device will engage with the counterbearing only after the cover has already reached its closed position. Vice versa, the catching device is disengaged from the counterbearing before the cover starts its tilt-out motion. The catching device, therefore, has no stabilizing influence on the cover in the critical swinging phase, and it can also not be utilized as a tilt-out support.
Therefore, the invention is based on the objective of creating a lifting/sliding roof of the initially mentioned type which has increased stability and an especially robust construction and where the cover, even at high speeds of the vehicle, is held securely in the closed position and can be tilted-out without problems and without rattling noises.
According to preferred embodiments of the invention, this objective is achieved by mounting the counterbearing at a stationary part of the roof, while the adjustable catching device is mounted at the cover and goes along with its motion, and by the fact that the catching device is in permanent engagement with a driving member which, during the swinging motion of the rear edge of the cover, in raising as well as in lowering movement, forces the catching device to carry out an additional movement with respect to the cover which, in the raising direction, supports the upward movement of the rear edge of the cover.
In the case of the solution according to the invention, the catching device not only holds the cover in a closed position in its rear area via a forced connection with the cover drive, but the catching device, also via a forced driving connection, supports the tilting-out of the cover as well. By means of the mounting of the adjustable catching device at the cover, the coupling problems can be avoided that occur in the case of the arrangement according to German Offenlegungsshrift No. 31 29 900. At the same time, the catching device, in contrast to the device according to German Offenlegungsshrift No. 33 11 452, may without difficulties be designed in such a way that, in interaction with the counterbearing (the rear edge of the cover), it transmits to (-) a forced movement over a relatively large swiveling range in both swinging directions of the cover.
Other developments embodied in the invention result in an especially robust construction requiring only a relatively small number of moved parts. Additionally, the rods of the catching device can be adapted especially well to existing geometric conditions and can themselves be guided securely. The use of link guides having a pair of mutually staggered slots and a link pin for each slot makes it possible to place the transverse axis around which the cover carries out its swinging motion at a desirable point and to provide a robust holding of the cover in its front area. Another development, whereby the transport carriages each carry a link pin that engages a longitudinally extending link slot of a cover support, permits a minimizing of the required joining points. However, naturally, it is also possible to attach the link pins at the cover support and to develop the link slots in the transport carriage.
By means of an automaticaly operating lock, the stability of the tilted-out cover is further increased in a simple way, and a spring, installed into the operating device so as to prestress the cover in a raising direction, results in a further support of the tilt-out movement of the cover. By means of a link guide, a guiding of the transport carriage is ensured that has little play and is secure with respect to tilting without impairing the useful width of the opening in the roof. By means of stop means, a cam and cam slot arrangement, undesirable sliding movements of the cover are avoided in a simple way, while the cover is swiveled.
The invention is suitable for roofs where the cover is pushed back over the fixed covering of the roof as well as for roofs where the opening of the roof takes place by a moving-back of the cover under the fixed part of the roof.